Many confectionery products include coatings, the coating may be hard, for instance many chocolate products are encased in a hard, often flavoured, sugar coating. One such coating is exemplified by WO 03/088756 which describes a mint tablet coated with three distinct coating layers. The first (innermost) layer surrounding the mint tablet comprising a fat, the second layer comprising a hard sugar shell and the third layer containing film forming agents. Soft coatings are also known, for instance jelly bean products comprise soft, jelly-like centres encased in a soft panned coating.
Some confectionery products will have a liquid centre at room temperature, for instance a chocolate liqueur will typically be formed from a hollow chocolate casing into which the liquid liqueur centre is placed.
Some confectionery will incorporate bubbles and microcapsules, the presence of bubbles in a chocolate product creates a smooth sensation as the chocolate melts creating the illusion that the chocolate is melting more quickly. Aerated candies are also known, for instance cinder toffee is an aerated form of toffee, wherein the bubbles create a tingling, crackling sensation when the toffee is consumed.
Microcapsules containing flavourings, such as those described in WO 91/17821 are often utilised to delay and extend the flavour release of a comestible. Such capsules are typically formed by spray drying the flavouring onto a solid matrix.
However, there remains a need in the confectionery industry for products and product components which offer a different and unusual sensory experience.